First Response
First Response is the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO original series Veep. It aired on June 9, 2013. Synopsis After being prepped for a "puff piece" interview at the VP residence, Selina is thrown by Janet Ryland's "gotcha" questions. Plot Selina and her team prepare for her interview with Janet Ryland, which will be conducted at the residence. Dan promises it'll be a "nice, casual conversation between two friends." Meanwhile, Janet and her producer Cody discuss their strategy. Since Selina is expecting to do a puff piece, they're going to switch from "bluff puff" to "rough puff." They've also got the holy grail of dirt - a braggy email between Andrew and a lobbyist promising access to the Veep. While the cameras roll, Janet and Selina tour the residence and discuss some of the objects in it. When Selina picks up a spyglass, Janet seizes the opportunity to grill Selina about the hostage crisis, catching her completely off guard. Janet continues down the warpath, confronting Selina about the Randall Howard book, "Hearts of Power: DC's Most Influential Couples." Selina dodges, insisting she doesn't have a lot of time to read fiction, and that her relationship with Andrew wasn't faked - Andrew did and still continues to support her vision for America. Mike phones Amy - from across the room - with apocalyptic news. He's just learned of the leaked Andrew email. Before they can warn Selina, Janet launches her attack. A shocked Selina insists Andrew has no influence over her decision making, despite the fact that she just got through assuring Janet that she and her ex-husband are still extremely close. Andrew arrives at the residence and Selina drags him off, under the guise of fixing him up for the cameras. "When we were married, he took longer in the bathroom than I did!" She confronts him about the email: "When I invited you here to the residence, to f*** me, I didn't mean this." He defends his actions, suggesting they're both using each other. "How easy is it for the Vice President of the United States of America to get some casual sex?" Between segments, Jonah bursts in the front door. With everyone on their best behavior for the cameras, the staff is unusually nice to him, politely inquiring about the purpose of his visit. He announces that POTUS will declare the end of the shutdown in fifteen minutes - right after Selina told Janet that she's been very involved in the debt talks and working towards a resolution. For a lunch segment, Selina and Andrew prepare a salad and roast chicken - to Catherine's horror. She runs to tell Gary, who holds up a note informing Selina that Catherine went vegetarian - and she told her three months ago. Away from Janet, Selina argues with Catherine about eating the chicken for the cameras. Amy steps in to mediate, but Catherine refuses to continue to sacrifice her morals for her mother's career. Amy assures her, "I've done that. It's not that bad." Meanwhile, a very tightly wound Amy argues with Cody about removing the Andrew email segment from the show, and he lashes out on her. "With all due respect, f*** you! I own the edit on your shit-show politician that you connected yourself to, not me, you little gremlin." The fight escalates after Amy threatens to revoke any future access to the VP. A screaming match ensues before Dan finally pulls her away. Though Amy knows she went off the rails, she insists she's the only one that's been trying to alleviate the situation, and accuses Dan of "flat-lining" the entire day. He asks her to consider how unimpressive Selina's been, and threatens that if the Veep doesn't "turn this f****** shit-show around" he doesn't know which way he's going to bounce. He orders Selina to save the interview by doing something big and bold - in the next five minutes. As the family settles on the couch for the "formal" portion of the interview, Selina sees her window to make her big, bold move, and apologizes on behalf of the administration for the failure of communication surrounding the hostage crisis. She tells Janet she had full knowledge of the spy's status, and that it was not the administration's intention to mislead the American people. "Sometimes you have to act, always you have to listen. Because in politics, a backbone and a heart are only as good as your ears - and my ears are my livelihood." The staff is shocked, but impressed, and even Janet thinks the interview is sure to take the spotlight back from the end of the shutdown. Quotes Dan: '''You're gonna do something big. You're gonna do something bold. And you're gonna do it in the next five minutes. '''Selina: '''How about this? How about I lift up my dress, give everyone a big fat shot of my cooch? Cast Main cast * Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer * Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer * Tony Hale as Gary Walsh * Matt Walsh as Mike McLintock * Reid Scott as Dan Egan * Timothy Simons as Jonah Ryan Guest cast * Sarah Sutherland as Catherine Meyer * David Pasquesi as Andrew Meyer * Allison Janney as Janet Ryland * Ptolemy Slocum as Cody Marshall Reception "First Response" received very positive reviews. The A.V. Club gave the episode an '''A-. Trivia -This is Veep's first bottle episode, all taking place in Selina's home. -This is the only episode of the show not to feature Sue, and the only episode of seasons 2-5 not to feature Kent or Ben. -Filmed February 27 - March 4, 2013. 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